Ireland have become the latest Six Nations team to confirm their matches will be played in front of capacity crowds following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
A limit of 5,000 spectators for outdoor events will be scrapped from Saturday, paving the way for a full house at Dublin's 52,000-seater Aviva Stadium.
Whilst Prime Minister Boris Johnson had opted not to limit capacities at sporting events in England - Ireland, Wales, and Scotland had all imposed crowd restrictions in December and early January, with recent United Rugby Championship matches having taken place behind closed doors.
It prompted fears that like in 2021, their Six Nations home games would follow suit, with the Welsh Rugby Union even looking into the possibility of hosting games at an English stadium to protect against potential loss of revenue.
However, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon lifted the ban on fans January 17 and in Wales, Mark Drakeford then followed suit by allowing full houses from Friday, January 21.
And now, in a major boost to the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), they will be permitted to sell out their stadium when they play Wales in the tournament opener on February 5.
Ireland will have further home matches against Italy (February 27) and Scotland (March 19) - alongside away games in France (February 12) and England (March 12).
In a released statement, the IRFU welcomed the decision by the Irish government to lift the current restrictions.
"Throughout the pandemic, the Government has been committed to sport and we thank them, particularly Minsters Martin and Chambers and all of our colleagues at Sport Ireland," they said.
"We also thank Aviva Stadium Director, Martin Murphy, for acting as Chair of the working group that represents the GAA, FAI and the IRFU, and for all his work to deliver our programme of events at Aviva Stadium.
"The IRFU looks forward to welcoming our clubs, schools, sponsors, patrons and supporters from Wales, Italy and Scotland, back to Aviva Stadium for an exciting 2022 Guinness Six Nations."
Ireland, captained by Jonny Sexton, will head into the tournament buoyed by a clean sweep of wins in their Autumn International series.
Andy Farrell's men recorded big wins over Japan and Argentina, but sandwiched in-between came an epic contest with New Zealand, which the Irish memorably won 29-20 in front of a partisan home crowd.
